Sick of eBay? Try these alternative places to sell...

So you're in a funk with eBay, or maybe you're just looking out into the big wide world of selling platforms to see what opportunities lay yonder. Either way, you've ended up here, and you wonder about the top alternatives to eBay and which ones will suit you most.

No one can deny the power of eBay: Since 1995, eBay has held its place as one of the largest marketplaces in the world. It has turned thousands of hobbyists into PowerSellers and allowed thousands more to run profitable, at-home businesses. However, the eBay marketplace has evolved significantly in recent years, and various policy changes have prompted an exodus from eBay, as sellers look for other, more lucrative online marketplaces.

Where there's a will there's a way, and this rise in need for other platforms has produced more options than you can shake the proverbial stick at. So what are these eBay alternatives?

Below you'll find a description of each site, some information about who that marketplace is best suited to and a direct comparison to eBay.

1. Amazon

Amazon: A Major Marketplace like eBay, but Cheaper

It's almost hard to believe that once upon a time Amazon was simply an online bookstore that dropshipped much of its inventory. The world's largest online book store, sure, but it only sold books. It has since exploded into one of the world's most visited websites, which offers millions of products across a range of product categories.

Amazon is similar to eBay in that you're opting into a very large marketplace that a lot of buyers trust, but the massive customer base comes at the price of higher fees and more competition.

In saying that, the large number of people looking to buy is a definite plus. With larger platforms like these, you need to think of it as getting a smaller slice of a larger pie. The slice may be a smaller in proportion to the whole pie, but the size of the pie means that you're still getting a decent amount. This huge traffic volume is probably the main reason that Amazon's Sellers Choice profitability rating was similar to eBay's.

Amazon also uses a built-in algorithm that will recommend your products to people who might be interested in them based on their search histories.

How Amazon Compares directly to eBay

Want to know exactly what you'll get with Amazon that you haven't had with eBay? Here's the list:

Amazon is similar to eBay in that they're both large networks with a very large range of product categories.

eBay is essentially an auction house, so unless you choose to list your item as "Buy It Now" people will bid to buy and it might take a week to sell an item. Amazon is a traditional retail setup, and sales are instant with a fixed price.

eBay charges sellers for listing on the site, regardless of success, as well as taking a commission when a sale is made. You can list on Amazon for free, which is safer (you have nothing to lose if a listing is unsuccessful), but you'll pay $0.99 per item sold on top of the commission for the sale if you have a basic, free seller's account.

eBay isn't great about providing extra services to buyers, as it doesn't actually sell anything itself. It's up to the sellers to make good on customer service. Amazon, by comparison, offers numerous perks for those who've paid for the Prime membership (including 2-day shipping on all qualified orders), and all around-great customer service, which act as incentives to draw in more repeat buyers.

Who is Amazon Best Suited To?

Almost anyone, selling almost anything, will be able to run a business on Amazon. The sheer diversity of prospects is a powerful enticement. You just have to make sure that your prices are competitive enough to be a contender without sacrificing too much of your profit margins. If you're a small seller, this can be a bit more of a challenge, as there will be others selling in large quantities making pricing very competitive. That's where you need to make sure you're selling the right products.

How to Succeed on Amazon

One of the best ways to get ahead in a competitive space like this is to do a little market research into what you want to sell before you commit time, energy, and capital to actually selling it.

This way, you'll be able to sniff out some great product options for you to sell. You'll also get a smattering of additional information, like the average sale price or how many listings there are for that product. It's well worth checking out, especially if you plan to sell on Amazon.

2. Etsy

Etsy (as well as Ruby Lane): The Artsy-Crafty Platforms

Etsy is doing very well as an online selling platform. It started in 2005 as an online community for crafters, artists and vintage enthusiasts, based in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Now it has 1.6 million active sellers, and 26.1 million active buyers. Not bad! It came out on top as the Sellers' Choice for ease of use, and it was the top pick for profitability after giants Amazon and eBay.

Etsy specializes in handmade and vintage goods, as well as craft supplies. Yes, this does limit what you can list on the network, and you might find that this rather niche-specific market isn't for you.

If, however, you make geeky things, costumes, jewelry, fashion accessories, home decor, cool gifts, and any number of other crafty items (or you know how to source quality vintage items or wholesale craft supplies), this is definitely the place to sell it all.

How Etsy Compares Directly to eBay

Want to know exactly what you'll get with Etsy that you haven't had with eBay? Here's the list:

You can sell pretty much anything on eBay (and yes, Amazon, too), whereas Etsy caters to the handmade/vintage/boutique niche.

eBay has mass-sold items and big brands, while Etsy's buyers enjoy the unique nature of the products they're getting.

Etsy is similar to eBay in that they both charge a listing fee, however:

eBay listings are up to 10 days, or 30 days for fixed price, while Etsy's listings last 4 months. This means your listings will last 4 times as long on Etsy before you'll have to renew them.

Etsy is cheaper charging only $0.20USD listing fee per item, and a fixed 3.5% commission. This fixed pricing model is much simpler than Amazon and eBay!

Who is Etsy Best Suited To?

Etsy is clearly best suited to any merchants with handmade items, vintage items, or craft-related resources. If you are an online seller who either produces your own unique product, or you source items that suit this market, then this selling platform is exactly what you're looking for.

How to Succeed on Etsy

If you create your own products, then by all means go ahead and list them and see how you go. If you'd rather give Etsy a go with some wholesale products, you have to be careful what you sell. You should read Etsy's Seller Guidelines before selling on this network.

Basically, Etsy is a place for unique goods or the supplies for making them. So if you're not making your own unique goods, stock up on the supplies instead by searching in the SaleHoo directory for "craft supplies," or search for specific types of supplies such as "fabrics" or "beads" or "clasps."

Some examples of items (and links to trusted supplier pages) that could provide what you need are:

There are many others you could look into, the above are just a few of the trusted suppliers available to you in the SaleHoo directory.

Selling Platforms Similar to Etsy

I thought it worth mentioning that there are a few other sites like this one now, claiming to have more unique goods than websites like eBay and Amazon. Two in particular are doing very well. If you are interested in tapping into this market, then it could be worth trying your luck with:

Bonanza: This platform's slogan is "Find everything but the ordinary": Any quirky or unique-style items are great here. You're allowed to sell a wider variety of wholesale goods here, and it's becoming a very popular network. We'll talk more about Bonanza in the next section.

Ruby Lane: With a claim like "The world's largest curated marketplace for vintage & antiques," you're better off selling vintage-style goods and actual antiques here. Ruby Lane's strength is customer service, as reflected in their Sellers Choice customer service rating.

Look around these marketplaces to get an idea of the types of products people are selling, and then find suppliers for those types of items to start selling on these networks.

3. Bonanza

Bonanza: A Fast-Growing Online Marketplace

Bonanza is headquartered in Seattle and, though it's relatively new to the e-commerce scene, it's doing incredibly well. The Bonanza marketplace encompasses more than 22 million items ranging from Godzilla garden gnomes to taxidermy alligators.

A lot of sellers are making good money on Bonanza. The site has merchants and shoppers in nearly every country around the world. More than 40,000 sellers have already created businesses here.

Bonanza is one of the easiest selling platforms to use, and its popularity is on the rise amongst sellers. In the Sellers' Choice awards, Bonanza has taken out the top rating for communication again, and were voted the most recommended selling venue. They were also recognised in Entrepreneur's 360 best companies list.

How Bonanza Compares Directly to eBay

Want to know exactly what you'll get with Bonanza that you haven't had with eBay? Here's the list:

Bonanza is similar to eBay in that a huge range of different products are being sold on both, so the sky's the limit for what you can sell.

Unlike eBay, however, many items on Bonanza are quirky and unique - extraordinary items do well here.

Because Bonanza doesn’t make money until its sellers do, you'll see much higher profit margins. It is absolutely free to list an item on Bonanza, and the average fee per sale can be as little as 3.5%, which is considerably less than eBay.

Bonanza is a fixed-price marketplace, meaning that buyers pay the listed price, as opposed to bidding against other buyers like in eBay’s auction-style listings.

Bonanza sends every item listing to Google and Bing, and sellers have the option to get more exposure by advertising their listings in other channels such as Pricegrabber, Nextag, and Bonanza's affiliate advertising program.

Many online sellers like to list their items on multiple platforms, which is why Bonanza has easy-to-use import features for listings on eBay, Etsy, and Amazon.

Although Bonanza's monthly traffic is lower than eBay's, the ratio of shoppers to sellers on Bonanza is much higher: 1,300 to 1 on Bonanza vs. less than 10 to 1 on eBay. That means far less competition between sellers, and far more chances for buyers to see your products.

Who is Bonanza Best Suited To?

Bonanza is best suited to any merchants who have something to sell online. Although Bonanza specializes in unique items and one-of-a-kind finds, it is not without its Justin Bieber perfume or Michael Kors handbags.

How to Succeed With Bonanza

Bonanza actually provides a really helpful guide for making sales on its platform, so that's definitely worth checking out. You could make a profit in any of its categories, but some of the top-selling ones currently include:

These are all categories in the SaleHoo directory, so you'll find a wide variety of trusted wholesale suppliers there for sourcing these types of products.

Over the years, Bonanza has put emphasis on building platform-specific tools to make selling online much easier for entrepreneurs. They offer automatic eBay, Amazon, and Shopify importing, multi-item editing, and a marketing tool that allows sellers to provide targeted discounts to their buyers. You can learn more about these tools here, and use them to boost your profits on Bonanza.

4. Craigslist

Craigslist: The World's Largest Online Classified Website

You can sell almost anything on Craigslist (including yourself, in the "personals" section). It's very "no-frills" in that there are no listing fees or selling fees, but it's super basic both in design and automation of the selling process.

It is, after all, just a forum. This means that you're pretty much on your own as far as selling and disputes go.

How Craigslist Directly Compares to eBay

Want to know exactly what you'll get with Craigslist that you haven't had with eBay? Here's the list:

eBay charges to list and sell items; Craigslist only charges for a small handful of post types, like job listings or vehicles. Products are free to list.

eBay will get involved in disputes if necessary, while you're on your own with Craigslist. So there's higher risk there.

Craigslist requires you to sell locally, and often you arrange for pick-up or drop-off of items. This limits your market compared to eBay, which usually involves shipping to a much wider area.

Unlike eBay, Craigslist has a "free" section where people aren't looking to make money, they're just trying to get rid of things they don't want. A lot of this will be junk, but you can keep an eye out for anything you could get and resell for a decent profit, especially if you're skilled at fixing things up.

Who is Craigslist Suited To?

Craigslist is best suited to sellers who are selling locally, and prefer to manage their transactions personally. It can be a good option for selling items that are perhaps too big or expensive to ship, such as furniture.

Some people like it because they can meet the people they're selling to, so there's a small social element. You can get cash-in-hand and you don't have to pay a network or shipping fees. In saying that, if you're paranoid about getting scammed or don't want to be personally involved with the transaction, then Craigslist might not be for you.

How to Succeed With Craigslist

Be careful with how you sell, as online transactions can be a little dodgy here, and if you get handed fake money, then it's basically your loss. Accepting payments in person can be good, but be careful (and safe!) when deciding where and how you meet people.

If you're good at spotting items that are worth a lot more than they're being sold for, or you have the skills to do up items that are a little lacklustre, you could make a neat profit here. For example, you might have an eye for valuable antiques, or you might know how to restore old wooden furniture. Or maybe you know how to sew something back to life. Pick up some workable free items or low cost items from craigslist (or browse local garage sales), work your magic, and sell the items for a higher price on Craigslist or other selling platforms. This can be a hit-and-miss strategy, so be sure to only select items that you're confident you could sell for a profit. And if items need work, make sure you have the time to do it, otherwise you may end up with a garage full of items you can't flip.

The downside of that strategy is it involves time, energy, and often a bit of luck to work. If you're a hobbyist it could be an enjoyable and profitable process, but if that's not your cup of tea, consider buying wholesale goods. List items that will sell well locally, save on listing and shipping fees, and you could make a hefty profit margin without the effort.

5. eBid

eBid: Another "Sell Anything" Marketplace

eBid is another marketplace similar to eBay and Amazon in that it is a platform for selling almost anything. Still, it's not as well known, so you'd be selling to a smaller pool of buyers.

It's definitely a lower-cost option than eBay or Amazon, but the profitability rating is also lower. The absence of listing fees and low 3 percent commission charged per sale does make this a low-risk market to test out, so if you're looking for a change, you've got little to nothing to lose here.

How eBid Directly Compares to eBay

Want to know exactly what you'll get with eBid that you haven't had with eBay? Here's the list:

eBid is similar to eBay in that they both have an auction-style format for product listings

eBay is a larger platform than eBid, and receives more traffic.

eBid is much cheaper than eBay, a lower-risk option.

They're both trusted marketplaces with a wide variety of product categories.

Who is eBid Most Suited To?

eBid is for you if you don't want to pay to list your items (as you have to on eBay), or if you'd just like to try your luck on an alternative (but similar) network. There's extra potential here if you know a thing or two about generating your own traffic.

How to Succeed With eBid

Basically, the lower level of traffic circulating on eBid (compared to eBay) is the only major downside. So if you promote your listings effectively elsewhere, such as social media or forums, you can enjoy your traffic as well as lower traffic.

There's definitely potential here, but also more work required to get your shop off the ground.

6. Your Online Store

​Your Online Store: The No-Competition Option

Selling on your very own website really is the ultimate option if you want to increase your profits and build a business that will become a long-term asset. If this appeals to you but you have no idea how to get started, don't worry. There's an easy way, which I'll mention a bit further down.

When selling from your own online store, you have to establish your own traffic, which can make it a little slower to get started than selling in a bigger marketplace. But once you're up and running, you don't have to compete with anyone else and your sales are all your own.

With this option, you can build up your own brand, rather than eBay's or Amazon's. When you sell on those platforms, who's really making the sale? They're spreading their brand, not yours. People say "I got it on eBay," or "I got it on Amazon," with no mention of the seller's name! It's ultimately you contributing to their marketplaces and their sales. Why not put that effort into yourself instead?

How Selling on Your Own Site Directly Compares to eBay

Here are the benefits of running your own online store, rather than selling on eBay:

You're building your own brand.

You can choose things like which payment forms to accept or tweak the design of your store to suit your preferences (and your branding).

You're not competing with any other sellers on the same platform.

This means you don't lose sales to others. It also means you don't have to use such competitive pricing. This makes way for larger profit margins.

Who is Best Suited to Owning Their Own Store?

Honestly? Pretty much anyone can get their own website and make a profit. Setting up your own store isn't nearly as hard as it used to be, and with a little time and effort, you can sell exactly what you want to, and how you want to.

How to Succeed with Your Online Store

​​Selling on your own website used to be expensive and complicated, but it doesn't have to be! If you don't have website-building skills and a heap of time, then store builders such as SaleHoo Stores are a really great option for you.

With SaleHoo Stores, there's no need for technical experience or knowledge; you can have your own store up and running in minutes and with just a few simple clicks of a mouse. You can see a SaleHoo store demo here.

7. Niche-Specific Sites

​Niche-Specific Sites: Smaller Markets but Highly Targeted

Niche-specific websites are marketplaces where people only sell one type of product. So rather than the larger category-based marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, these sites hone in on one of those options and specialize in only that.

How Niche-Specific Sites Directly Compare to eBay

These sites are less obvious options, so some of your competition won't be here.

Who is Best Suited to Selling on Niche-Specific Sites?

If you're passionate about a specific niche of products, or you tend to bulk-order a small range of items, then niche-specific websites could be a great platform for you.

This will allow you to really focus on one market, and get to know the selling techniques that work best with that niche's buyer-audience.

How to Succeed with Niche-Specific Sites

If you haven't already, you need to really zero in on the type of product you'd like to sell and determine how much demand there is. A quick way to get a rough comparison of popularity is to do a keyword search. You can use a tool like the Keyword Research Module in AffiloTools.

Simply type in the name of the product or niche that you're interested in selling, and look at the monthly search volumes. This will show you how many people are searching for words or phrases to do with that topic, which is a strong indication of how much interest there is. If you're tossing up a few options, then try each one out to see which ones generally have more searches.

Once you've got a strong idea of what you'd like to sell, try searching in Google for "Places to sell [product type]." Look for marketplaces that cater to selling in your specific niche, like the examples we've already mentioned. Be sure to read about other people's experiences selling on them first. If these sites come across as genuine and promising, give them a go!

These are just some examples of the trusted suppliers you can access in the SaleHoo directory. If you've got a niche that you'd like to sell to, then type it into the search box there and find the best suppliers.

8. Your Suggestions

Have we missed a marketplace that you'd like to see here? If so, let us know in the comments below and we'll add it to this list. Stand-outs will be researched and added in our next update.

So Where Do I Sell?

There are a lot of options for you to choose from, so it depends on which of these following elements appeal to you most...

If you're looking for sites similar to eBay but cheaper, Amazon, Bonanza and eBid are the closest relatives.

Amazon is the only other network that's similar to eBay in size, with a giant range of products and massive customer base. So if that's a benefit of eBay you don't want to lose, this is an alternative to try.

Bonanza is similar to eBay in that the range of products you can sell isn't limited like it is on sites like Etsy, and they have a fantastic relationship with sellers, so it's worth trying.

Finally, if the auction-style is what you like about eBay, then eBid is the closest relative, although there's much less traffic circulating there so you'll have to do a lot more promotion to get your store off the ground.

If you have anything crafty or unique, you should definitely try the likes of Etsy or Ruby Lane.

These creative-style networks are really taking off, with Etsy coming in highest after eBay in overall Sellers Choice ratings. These networks might be totally wrong for the type of product that you're looking to sell, but if you're not tied down already, then these networks are worth the time to try out.

If you don't want to pay to list items until you've actually made a sale, try Bonanza.

This network is certainly on the rise as a strong alternative to eBay. The site has fantastic communication, and your listings will only cost you if they're successful, in which case it'll be a non-issue.

Amazon is also free to list items on, but it charges higher commissions. The high volume of traffic on Amazon may make up for that though, depending on how much competition you're facing and how much demand there is for what you're selling. You can always try listing on both and seeing which gives you the best returns. After all, neither will cost you anything until your items sell so you've got nothing to lose.

If you want to sell locally at no cost, try Craigslist (or even local markets).

This is a sort of cheap-and-nasty option where you're left to your own devices and often end up trading in person, but if you don't mind selling locally and being a little more hands-on in the selling process, then this is an option to consider.

If you like to sell locally consider other outlets such as local markets, especially if you enjoy this social element to selling. These environments are full of buyers and can give you an extra chance to show off your wares and add to your sales.

If you want to dodge the competition altogether, you should build your own online store.

If you want to avoid competition, listing fees and paying commissions, then consider running your own online store. It's a little more work to get set up (unless you use a store builder like SaleHoo stores) and to promote, but in the bigger picture it can be a hugely profitable option.

If you're really focused on one type of product, try niche-specific sites.

Finally, if you're an enthusiast for selling one type of product but you don't want to build your own site, it's worth looking into niche-specific marketplaces. Just do a quick Google search to see if you can find any in your area of interest.

If you're still unsure, you could look into any of the suggestions from the comments.

We haven't looked into all of your suggestions yet (unlike like the other options here), but they're suggestions made by other sellers and could be worth looking into.

Have we missed one that you'd like to see here? If so, let us know in the comments below and we'll do the research and add it to the list.

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616 comments

I still don't see which market works for dropship sales. Where is that addressed? Also, no one tells you if you need a web site or "store" to sell on ebay and Amazon? Do I need a domain to sell on any of these platforms. How important is your web address to pull in buyers? Must be a pretty generic name if you plan to sell a general assortment of items from multiple categories. I have a resale number for another antique business. Must I get another that correlates with my new business? Reply

Amazon---or The River as it is often called....is not a good deal for small sellers. I recently worked out the maths as someone who purchases small amounts of wholesale stock but is not VAT registered (thus can't claim back VAT, which is, for the understanding of those not in the UK, an extra 20% on the price). Some of my items would still be saleable, but giving profit margins considerably less than on Ebay.
Etsy has some peculiar attitudes; if you sign up with them you cannot receive your payments directly into your Paypal account; everything is directed through Etsy's own money-collection system and you get paid periodically. Not good for cashflow, sometimes. Ebid, I joined eight months ago and sold one item. Ebid simply doesn't spend money on promotion, you have to do it yourself, so you may as well set up your own website.
For all its faults, and it has many, Ebay has at least provided me with buyers. How long that will last remains to be seen.
For folk in the UK there are not too many options unless you are happy to sell stuff overseas. I do, for certain products, but not for others. I'd class my stuff as fairly niche (art, crafts), so I'd look for my own website (which I've got) and any platform which has a strong arts/crafts focus. Using a platform is very helpful when you're a new seller, the knack is in finding one that works. Reply

It's this new marketplace I found - literally can open a free store, list my items, and they don't charge a dime when I sell. I asked them how they make money and they said something about managed listings for sellers with large inventories. Then they actually offered to manage my listings for free (I have about 400) and have been doing that for a bit now. When they say zero selling fees they mean itt! I sold a product for $48 and received $48 - my buyer paid $48 and I received $48, so clearly it's free.

Customer support there is also amazing.

Hope they read this! It's Tammy. Thank you again for everything BriskSale Reply

OMG Tammy! Me too! I found BriskSale a few months back when I was trying to sell my DSLR camera. I had gotten fed up with the fees on Ebay. Since they split from PayPal, I had to pay both of them when the item sold. It's outrageous!
BriskSale has been a lifesaver. I can list and sell my items with NO FEES!!! I mean, who does that!!?? At first I was skeptical so I gave them a call and their customer service was amazing. I spoke with Alex who was very enthusiastic and helpful. On top of selling my items and keeping all of my money I had the option to become a BriskSeller and connect buyers with sellers. If the seller offers a commission and I help sell that item, I pocket the commission! I essentially became a broker from my kitchen counter!
IMHO BriskSale is the future online marketplace. We live in a world dominated by technology, and BriskSale makes connecting to sell your stuff a breeze. From now on, it's BriskSale or nothing for me! E-who?
Mel Reply

I'm not sure if you know or not. I tried to sign up with elephantbid.com and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting a response. Well, I looked and noticed there were no products. I guess the website is no longer in use. You might wanna take them off of your suggestions. Thanks! Reply

Open question from a individual (non-professional) seller...
This was an excellent article with a lot of helpful information for the professional seller. However, I am a non-professional seller of items from my parent's estate (I am an only child.) and I am sick of eBay.
If SaleHoo or anyone reading this comment could direct me to a similar article for non-professional individual sellers, I would be extremely appreciative.
Thanks!
JoeReply

Posted by
Pete
on 14:49 4 Mar

I don't know how ebay stays in business. I'm 70 yrs old and had an emergency appendectomy and was in the hospital for over a week. In the meantime 2 buyers had problems and asked ebay to resolve their issues because they didn't hear back from me. When I was finally able to get back on line, I was informed that I was "below standard" status and my selling was restricted to a few items and I could not add anything new or even modify my existing items. Both unhappy customers were refunded their money and left positive feedback. I explained for over an hour to ebay as to why I didn't respond quickly (first time in 15 years on ebay) and their decision was that they would not change my status or allow me to list any new items. Their "hard nose" attitude is unbeleivable. I wish someone would compete enough to topple their empire. Reply

Posted by
Tom Purcell
on 21:11 29 Feb

I've been an Amazon Pro Seller for almost a year and an eBay Top Rated Power Seller for past 3 yrs.

How do you figure Amazon is Cheaper than eBay? Amazon is way more expensive than eBay for Pro Merchants selling 41 to 200 listings per month!

For those hobbyists clearing out old junk in a garage, then maybe Amazon is cheaper because you don't need a store. And for those selling 1000 plus items per month on FBA (as long as they don't get too high a percentage of returns?) they can make some decent money.

BUT, for the seller in the middle; those selling a couple hundred items per month. I have to disagree with you on Amazon being Cheaper.

FBA makes it way more expensive too - for those only selling 100 to 200 or even 500 items listed.

FBA FEES Just went Up again in Feb 2016 - While yes, it is convenient in the sense that They pick pack and ship, but as mentioned, it Only makes financial sense for those sellers doing ALOT of volume.

For those of us trying to Build Up to the 500+ items listed it is Very Expensive learning curve!!!

Amazon sticks their hand in sellers pockets at every opportunity - the medium size sellers get gouged big time.

And don't even get me started on Returns through Amazon. You Must pay shipping Both Ways or else there's a good chance you will get an A to Z Claim filed by the buyer. Then they get to Keep your item and the seller pays for Everything, loses the item and gets Dinged for the claim. You get a few of those and your finished on Amazon.

My metrics are Good with No issues, but I did have an A to Z claim about 7 mos ago from a dishonest buyer.

It used to be, Amazon buyers were Higher Class than eBay's............not so anymore.

I haven't had 1 return from an eBay sale in Months. I get them several times a week on FBA sales with Amazon. Reply

Posted by
larry
on 20:29 18 Feb

ebay now over 20 years old refuses to resolve a problem that's just as old, non payment.
no other ecommerce site ENABLES non payment. any buyer at any time can stiff you. their penality? NOTHING.
as long as they don't abuse the privilege (& ebay gives them a lotta' room) they can walk way & not pay.
1st, allowing 4 days to pay is absurd. it's 2016 not 1996. back in the day of dial up modems they had to allow a few days for payment to be received. today, payment should be made within 24 hours. no excuses.
the seller can open an unpaid item case within 48 hours of non payment but ebay then allows (rewards) the buyer another 4 days to respond. their penalty for not replying to your case or for paying? nothing.
the seller is then forced to relist whereby the item may not sell a 2nd x or sell for less.
to avoid non payment many use buy it now with the IMMEDIATE PAYMENT DUE selection enabled upon purchase making the buyer PAY as they should. EXCEPT if you also allow buyers to make a BEST OFFER & if they do, & you accept their offe,r it makes immediate payment null & void.
HOW STUPID IS THAT?
the buyer who made the very offer can walk away without paying, just as they can had it been an auction.
just a head's up. if a buyer doesn't pay NEVER request a sale cancellation. when you as a seller cancel a transaction when a buyer defaults on payment, ebay allows the buyer SEVEN days to accept the decision to cancel.
they didn't pay & now they have a week to further leave you hanging and like the above they can stiff you without penalty.
this has to change. it's inevitable. ebay's demise will someday be at the hands of their very own customers.

i would like to know which are the best sites for selling my college textbooks? years ago,there were several free sites that students checked regularly and sales were rather easy to make. those sites are not around anymore. i do not mind paying a fee for books that are sold but it is not cost effective for me to pay listing fees for books that might never sell.

i considered amazon but learned they charge a number of fees which would force me to sell at a higher price a book that is used and not the current edition. Reply

That is a great question. I know that Half.com, which is an eBay site, is pretty popular. Amazon is hit or miss. With both, you have the issue of fees. There is ABEbooks.com, where I have bought used textbooks in the past, and a Google search turns up a site called eCampus.com: http://www.ecampus.com/sell-textbooks.asp You can also resell to places like Half Price Books, but you won't get very much money at all.

You are honestly better off trying to sell your used textbooks on social media, on Craiglist, and in other local markets -- especially if you live in a college town. Look for local buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook. you don't have to worry about shipping times (a big appeal for college students), there's no selling/listing fees, and best of all, it's a pretty good bet the textbooks will be in demand because professors don't usually change textbooks every semester. And a lot of professors let you get away with older versions of books as long as the info isn't too out of date. Reply

Posted by
shawn
on 3:08 5 Feb

Tired of EBay restrictions for Top Rated Sellers, Always for the buyer and not the seller. I have been selling for several years. Too many rules and changes. Fees over the top. I'm done. I will try to sell somewhere else or open my own online store. Reply

Posted by
RON
on 16:13 1 Feb

everything SOUNDS SO FAMILIAR.....I have been buying/ selling on FLEebay for 3 years now with 100% feedback and lately sold some items and FLEebay is holding my money for 21 days. You would expect that for the newcomers but I have over 250 positive feedback...100% positive and they treat me like this. I, too, have had enough of their CRAP and am refunding the buyers money and going elsewhere. I have also had buyers scam me out of music and other hardware items where I never received items back and FLEebay paid the buyer there refund so basically they got the product and there money back...if I wasn't trying to get a refund from a newegg purchase which FLEbay hid from my buying items, therefore searching my emails for the product, I would be out $323.00 because ebay wouldn't look for the auction. BTW, newegg was the seller and sent the wrong item, and as of today, have been waiting for 30 days to get the refund on the laptop memory. BIG BUSINESS CAN GO SIT ON A REDWOOD STUMP as they do to us. Reply

Posted by
on 2:52 30 Jan

Have not been able to sell a single thing through Bonanza. All the same stuff I have sold on ebay in a matter of days. But, Ebay is too much for the buyer and not helping their sellers. So, guess I will just stash it in my storage unit. Tired of wasting time and not selling a single thing. Maybe something else will come along. Reply

That sounds awesome. Many of my friends are crafters and I have worked in artist alleys at conventions, as well as at various craft shows.

Having your own domain will be very useful and gives you a lot of freedom, but the problem will be getting traffic to it. So make sure that if you do build your own site, you really focus on keywords and SEO, as well as a solid social media strategy. Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook will be really good options for you, and Pinterest could work as well. A little pay-per-click advertising will help, though you'll have to check the competition and find the right keywords.

I don't necessarily any of the others, except perhaps Ruby Lane or Artfire, would be kind to your business. So get your Etsy page set up so you can start taking orders, and then start building your own website on your own domain. Get lots of photographs, and don't forget to collect testimonials!

Good to see alternatives to eBay. Just closed multiple accounts today after being on there for almost 10 years. Fees, inconsistent policy enforcement, listings you pay for buried or removed by eBay, on and on. Also had enough buyer protection program abuse where you only choices are to refund the buyer and let them keep the item or refund the buyer and get a box full of trash returned to you while they still keep the item. Appeal? Buyer wins 100% of the time. My advice to anyone is your goal should always be to eliminate the middle man. These other sites are ok, but only use them to get started. Best thing to do is have your own website so you have total control over everything and you can build your brand.
Something else you should look into is alternatives to PayPal. Don't get me started on the six months to return thing..Reply

The ebay alternative question comes mainly because people have been banned from selling on ebay , but the truth is any alternative of a similar nature is all but a waste of a sellers time as they just don't attract the buyers , many many have tried to move in on ebays patch and everyone hasn't even got close to competing, Etsy probably done okay but it's all craft and hobby related, if you have been removed by ebay then unless you can fake another account just accept that selling online for you has come to an end and move on. i can't see anyone competing with ebay for a long time and for the vast majority it's the only one that really matters , okay Amazon is big but it's not seller friendly for small sellers ,and you can't sell mobile phones for example , there was talk of Google launching an auction site of similar nature but even they think it would be far from easy to put a dent in ebays customer base which says it all to be honest if one of the planets biggest tech companies are sceptical of winning over ebays customers then what hope does anyone else have , the answer is any that try will fail! Reply

Posted by
Modern Guitars
on 20:19 16 Nov

I am tending towards Catawiki at the moment as I sell high value collectables - it genuinely does seem to be the EBay alternative we have all been waiting for Reply

Posted by
mike
on 23:59 11 Nov

Hate Ebay, terrible customer service, no way to contact them, not even a email, no chat room, Amazon has both, I ordered an item found out wrong size seller said no return or exchange, never saw that any where when I bought it. Ebay was no help could not even send them an email terrible customer service WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN Reply

I agree, I have had listing yanked without reason, or any opportunity to appeal. I have had sellers tell me in messages that they wanted to keep an item, and eBay let them and refunded them their money. But there is a customer service phone number since I had to use it today., 866-540-3229

I have some things on eBay, and I found another seller using my photos. I contacted eBay, then send my some document to submit that I am a verified seller, but if it happens again the want me to contact the other eBay seller 1st and ask them to remove my photo before asking them to take action. You are kidding me, they will just yank my legitimate listing, but not a verified stole photo? Reply

I have to say that I feel great to know that there are other ebay alternative sites. I've had bad experience with ebay not too long ago. On my first day that I opened an account with them, and suddenly they suspended my account without telling me why. I decided to move to bonanza which is worth it. It's a growing site and have been having so much successful selling my old stuff there. The site is easy to list and they have great customer service. Reply

As many of you I have been a profitable seller on eBay for a few years now, however, since all the new changes that have occurred over the last few months, I now am thrown off of eBay from selling or buying. The crappy part of the issue is i have perfect 100% feedback and all the sudden I am below standard but still I have perfect 100% feedback, now I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't figure out how a seller with 100% feedback can be below standard, when everything is shipped same day and received in perfect condition as well as the prices are way below retail of the item, but like you say one bad egg (as a seller) who complains or one cancel transaction, because a buyer doesn't want the item after they bid for 10 days on it and win it, then request to cancel the item, for which I did, and now because I did eBay threw me off, so I really don't understand myself, is it they just want all your money and you are not allowed to get even a few cents back when a buyer doesn't want the item, you have to pay all their fees anyway. I am so fed up with eBay, so now I am searching to find other places to sell my items. I listed on Bonanza, but after a week I still have sold nothing, so it isn't like eBay where I was able to make money daily now I am stuck trying to find somewhere I can make money daily to support me and my family. HELP!!! Reply

Posted by
peggy
on 3:13 7 Nov

I sell on facebook groups. There are local ones that sell anything, auctions, antiques, cars , furniture. Lots and lots of groups to sell in. Ie: I sell in area swap, for the love of milkglass and pyrex groups. No charges or fees. Reply

Posted by
RJD
on 15:43 31 Oct

eBay does not back it's sellers. I was unable to respond to a buyers reqest to return my items authentic Pandora bracelet and charm, because she did not know the product. I was out of the US and eBay went ahead and awarded her full refund and she was able to keep my items. I had indicated at the time of sale that "there was no refund". eBay completely ignored my request and proceeded to say that they had millions of sellers and in essence better luck next time . Customer Service was rude and arrogant. I am done! Reply

I really despise EBay it basically knows your stuck in there world of too many fees and costs...Most of them are hidden until monthly statements come back to break you.. would love a feeless selling platform..Mercari was ok in the beta tests..but most people just like your item and don't buy ..SELLFREE sounds like a great online marketplace for mostly trading cards and sports memorabilia. Reply

Posted by
Jeff
on 17:17 22 Oct

I'm trying Flea-Market-Online.com and like it so far, they only charge just $4.95 a year for unlimited listings and no sales fees. Ebay has become just to greedy and tired of giving them all my profits! Reply

Posted by
BJH
on 17:04 18 Oct

Facebook is emerging quickly for local sales and it definitely offers a level of security as scammers think twice before being dishonest with their name, picture and their contacts tied to it. From my personal experience, eBid should not even be on this list, as they are just like eBay without the traffic. They are poorly managed and like eBay, sellers should beware of being scammed. Don't expect any support or decent treatment from eBid. Unlike eBay, they started working on their poor reputation before getting any real traffic. eBid is all te negative of eBay without the positive. Reply

Posted by
Michele
on 13:36 15 Oct

Schpock is a nice place. I have also enjoyed selling on Locanto. It has great customer support team, easy to use platform and easy to upload items. I really like being on it. Reply

Hi,
I am seller on eBay as well as have my own website call reindeerleather.com, I sell Handmade Leather Slippers, Shoes and Baby Footmuffs, as I am manufacturer and do wholesale also. Initially I found that selling on ebay was pretty kool, money was flowing profit was good, however from last 1 year due to there new policies my sells drop drastically and buyers started opening dispute as most of my buyers say eBay encourage them to do so, I am getting so tired of eBay so I decided to put my whole time and efforts to make my own website successful, its difficult too much work, however still its my own, Selling or eBay or any market place is like being Employee for them and then you never know when they can kick you our of your own business leaving you penniless. Reply

I have been selling on ebay for 6 years , They take their cut out of my bank account every month and are happy to do so . Now I had 2 items lost by the post office and 2 people complained about as is items that were less then $10 . So now my performance rating is at 5.97 , ! 0.97 over the limit as a result they are holding $2,000 of my money from sales as a punishment to me . I can not get my funds for 21 days as I'm on probation ! crazt huh as they make interest off my money . I have to up front the cost of shipping of my items now . I an done with ebay , they will go bust in 5 years i predict . This is how they treat great sellers . I do this part time and have make over $43,000 in the 6 years , I have been on ebay for 14 years also as a buyer , They don't care as I called them 6 times in the last 3 days and they say I have to wait for my funds . After I get my money I'm done with ebay ! I sell used electronics mainly . What is a good alternative to use other than ebay , thanks everyone . Reply

There are so many of us that got the shaft by eBay!!!!! So messed over, it is unreal and plain wrong to treat us as they have! There's no loyalty to sellers, no matter how great our rating, one "wrong" buyer is allowed to undo all of our hard work. We all here have various versions of our negative experiences in the ways eBay chooses to do business, and they way they choose to treat us. It's almost the same thing, how we were screwed by eBaby.
I wish all of us that are fed up with eBay (I got banned FOREVER too over a small thing, so ridiculous) by eBay, after being told how to handle things from a heavily accented customer service agent, but then was told no, and then told I was banned. That was so extremely aggravating, and like so many have said here, when I tried to get it straightened out, no, nothing, couldn't get anywhere.
I just wish, we could all pull together, invest $1 and get Bonaza to advertise. That might raise public awareness to lead people to the site!!! We have to pull together to figure out how to advertise Bonaza, as it seems to be next in line to popularity after eBay. There are smaller other places to sell, but I think we could all make money quicker by jumping on the same BAND WAGON to promote Bonaza. I just heard about them for the first time only after I got screwed by eBay. It would be worth a dollar to me if we could join forces and get Bonanza eBay dethroned. I would love to see them get passed over or passed by from a new company....one that treats its sellers properly!!!! Reply

swapnsell4free.com is the new name for free3bay (ebay closed it down)
still free to buy and sell and only has one time fees for larger shops and listing upgrades
still no final value fees and once you pay for a shop its yours for life! Reply

Love AuctionMyStuff for selling antiques (furniture, paintings, Chinese vases, etc.). Good deals if your looking to buy art as well I used to use eBay, but the customer service is just non-existent. Great service from AuctionMyStuff and my stuff actually sells!! Reply

Posted by
soon
on 17:29 30 Jun

you can also sell by posting free ads to all the free classifieds to get more customers for your services like megasasta.com . Or write blog on megasasta.com and give advertise inside body of your blog. Reply

Posted by
Mark
on 21:04 25 Jun

Have a look at fleamarket247.com. it is the USA’s first Virtual Flea Market. Sellers get their own virtual booth which runs for the whole week with new booths starting every Sunday at 3pm PDT. The site is completely unique and a great alternative for people that can’t get out to the real thing. Reply

Posted by
ron
on 14:33 18 Jun

Ebay is no good any more, nothing is selling, i have tried everything, you cant even give things away for free. Reply

Posted by
on 13:19 7 Jun

Can someone help me please as a good place to sell online. I am a 16yr seller on eBay with 100% feedback but my sales are down by 90% and I can no longer pay my bills so I have to look elsewhere Reply

I was a Bronze Seller with over 20,000 positive feedback for over 14 years and during Christmas had a flood and had to refund 6 customers for product I could not deliver. I was shocked, to say the least when I was informed that after 14 years I was now banned, not suspended for a limited time, BANNED FOREVER. I appealed but they refused to even consider letting me back on. Ebay does not care about the customer or the vendor. Sell elsewhere. I now do twice as much business with even more profit on Amazon, Bonanza and anywhere I can sell. Ebay can go ....... Reply

I have been selling (started buying first) on EBAY since around 2002. They are definitely PRO BUYER , FEES ARE BECOMING OUTRAGEOUS. SOLD A USED PURSE TWICE AND THEY REMOVED THE LISTING said it wasn't authentic, ok well let's wait till the buyers bid and win and expect to receive item. CRAZY!! I can deal with that, I bought it used. I never said it was authentic Because I really did not know. MY PROBLEM is the always INCREASING FEES even taking part of your SHIPPING COST. I buy the item , prepare item to sell, wash etc, take my time to list said item and ebay ends up with 15 + % and paypal & Ebay. There really NEEDS TO BE A COMPETITOR that WE RESALERS selling NICE USED PRELOVED ITEMS ONLY. No big stores selling hundreds of new items. Let's go from 50 free listings to 20 free listing and tell us that's better Ebay , really? YOU ARE MAKING BILLIONS!!!!! Let sellers make some. Any ideas ?? Thanks Reply

Today I called ebay and questioned why they have changed the "free listings" from 50 items to 20 per month...I was told twice by ebay's foreign representative that I just needed "deal with it". How's that for customer service to the sellers that pay their fees / salary ! ! ! Reply

I would definitely not recommend Amazon to sell on to my worst enemy. I opened an account there and started selling, in 1 day I sold over $1000 and then they froze my account. Told me they had to make sure everything was good with fraud protection and that the hold would be released within 24 hours and i could get back to selling. Shortly after that they suspended my account and said i was not aloud to sell vaping supplies although there are still 100's of people selling them on their site and have been for years.

Now they are holding my money for 90 days and have closed my account. But yet 100's of others are still selling the same items as we were selling....seems they can do what ever they want and think they can get away with it....have spoken with class action attorneys and they are looking into the possibilities of a major payday...how does this sound to you?

James my name is Kerry and I sell over 2000 items on ebay and amazon and I have the same problem with both sites. Let me know about that class action suite. Reply

Posted by
Dee
on 4:22 24 Jan

Where do you find 2000 items and sell on ebay and amazon? You may not want to tell me but was curious because I am a stay at home mom and trying to get income coming in and lost at where to start to get the right items to sale. Thank you.

Posted by
CoastHI
on 23:24 28 Apr

Thank you everyone for the advice and I too am hopping off eBay for just about every reason that has already been discussed here! I can't wait to dump them. I remember back in the day when fees were nominal but they back door charges on your shipping as well! eBay SUCKS! Reply

Posted by
betty
on 1:12 19 Apr

i am sick of ebay. i have a store on ebay and every day they remove some of my listings because my seller performance is low. w-e-l-l hey, you can"t make someone buy from you. i have fantastic feed back but yet they are removing my items. but it is o.k. because what they are removing i am putting on another web site out of New York and doing good with it. when they remove all my items i am going to be through with ebay. everyone selling on ebay should be looking for alternative to sell on., thanks. Reply

eBay and Paypal now charges a combined 13% for everything you sell. Sold something for $1000 bucks? Guess what, they're taking $130 bucks from that sale. Ugh. There has to be a better alternative. What happened to selling something that much and eBay only charging you $12 dollars? Reply

After one year with ebay I closed my store, I am tired of buyers keeping items , and ebay giving them their money back, tired of the high fees and changing rules. Tired of spending hours on hold trying to get answers. I have now moved my items to Bonanza where at least if I don't sell anything I don't have to pay anything. I just hope Bonanza does not become like ebay. I hope we can get enough sellers to go to Bonanza to make it worth it. Reply

Posted by
paul
on 19:36 17 Feb

Try miklist.com , another free alternative to eBay where you can advertise what you want for free Reply

Posted by
Steve Spurlock
on 23:01 12 Feb

I am also an ebay seller and have been for a mere 7 months. It used to be a much better place to sell as I am not a big item or a large quantity seller. I sell collectables, which average about $15 each. Although I don't have a higher quantity of listings than I did 4 months ago, my monthly bill has now increased 300%. I used to pay $300 per month, now I pay between $800 and $900. It's ridiculous. Because of the items I sell, I am now working all month just to pay the outrageous fees. So... Today I started moving my listings over to rbiz. It's free to list and they charge a small final value fee of 5%. I like the site so far, but as with many others, it just doesn't have the traffic yet. Hopefully it will soon, and my listings will be there from now on. Reply

Ebay seller also, account restricted also, sat here waiting for some explanation why while reading “your invoice for January” which turned up no problem. We’ve held a relatively short term account but we had accumulated great feedback until the rug was pulled from under our feet with no explanation other than “below average seller status” after being advised to open an eBay shop!
After a brief chat with eBay reason is that orders have been cancelled. My explanation, in writing, was being as we are manufacturers of our items we had a pre-Christmas mechanical breakdown and not wanting to let anyone down we cancelled the orders, (nine), along with messages to explain why, everyone responded and understood our dilemma along with a high percentage stating if we got back to business then carry on with the transaction. Unfortunately we could see a way through so reimbursed all via paypal with charges incurred, no cases where opened or no bad feedback was left on our account.

I must add that all orders where sent and in time for the festive season and free of charge, which must have boosted eBays’ reputation for buyers no end and at our cost.

This was explained to eBay customer service who said they understood but it would have to go to the “special team”, (probably ex-gangsters?) who stated rules are rules so nothing could be changed, which was disappointing to say the least, but the disappointment only lasted one week before they trashed all our hard work and the account. Anyway at least I know now from reading the above messages that it’s hardly worth sitting here waiting for good news as I don’t think it’s worth the hassle being with ebay anyway. If they can’t see what the problem is with their selling site then I’m not stepping forward to tell them. Yes it is the No1 selling site but with what we all know in business if you run something like that it should by rights fail. I feel really sorry to some of the people that have been building up business for years so the best luck to everyone here in finding a better alternative.
Dave (Laser Cut Design)Reply